the squeeglebird -named after an imaginary character invented by two little girls I met in Dublin during the making of the film

The official design orthodoxy was that the only true character' in the film is the Line itself. The only characters that are on screen for any length of time are the Demon and the Yellow Bird, which represents the soul of the Artist. The film starts with the emergence of the Line as a point in motion. Its transformation goes from the ideal of mathematical purity, through organic incarnation to representing the intangible elements of the Artist's imagination. What the Line gives form it also traps and ultimately destroys. In the end the Line itself collapses once more to a single point of light and so the process comes full circle.

linetrap2 the moment of emergence

Most of the backgrounds were created either using ink or dyes on artboard, plain coloured paper or pastels on card. This sequence used dyed canvas to create a textured effect. Unfortunately this can only be appreciated in the projected film since this colour combination does not transcribe well to video.